Paving project set to begin on Highway 101 through north Sonoma County

A major paving project that promises to smooth out a notoriously rough stretch of Highway 101 from Windsor to Cloverdale is set to begin next month, state officials confirmed this week.

The so-called Big Pave represents one of the largest infrastructure projects in north Sonoma County since the early 1960s, when traffic was transitioned off Old Redwood Highway and onto the current corridor.

For years, potholes have marred the 14-mile stretch of the four-lane highway running through the north county, rattling teeth and nerves.

“This stretch of highway has been one of the worst in the Bay Area for decades,” State Sen. Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg, said.

The paving project is scheduled to begin May 21 in Healdsburg on the northbound lanes near the Dry Creek Road offramp, and continue north to the Canyon Road offramp in Geyserville.

Healdsburg City Councilman Gary Plass said the paving project “is a great step forward” for motorists who’ve long suffered with the poor road conditions.

“I was 10 years old when the highway bypassed Healdsburg, and with very few exceptions, there has been little repair,” Plass said.

Once the paving work reaches Cloverdale, the contractor for the project - DeSilva Gates Construction - will decide whether to go back along the southbound lanes toward Windsor, or return to the origination point in Healdsburg and continue south along the northbound lanes from there, according to Caltrans spokesman Alejandro Lopez.

Either way, the paving is expected to wrap up in late 2018.

Lopez said the work will be done from 11 p.m to 5 a.m. to minimize impacts on motorists.

Still, the work will entail detours and noise from crews grinding up the concrete.

“Residents should be prepared,” McGuire said.

The roadway was built with concrete to lengthen its lifespan. The material will now be used as a base layer for 6 inches of asphalt.

Funding for the $78 million paving work comes from state and federal gas taxes funneled through the State Highway Operations and Protection Program. No local monies are being tapped, including from Measure M, a local sales tax increase voters approved in 2004 for road and highway projects.

Sales tax revenue has gone toward widening of Highway 101 up to the Old Redwood Highway overpass in central Windsor, which is the southern end of the upcoming paving project.

A second phase of the project, involving upgrades to culverts running along the highway, is expected to start in 2019 or 2020 and cost $82 million, Lopez said.